Ambushed NYPD Officer Taken Off Life Support

(CN) - The New York City police officer who was shot in the face while sitting in an unmarked car over the weekend died Monday.

Brian Moore, 25, clung to life support after the Saturday evening shooting but was pulled from life-support at the Medical Center in Queens Valley on Monday.

Investigators apprehended a suspect quickly, and arraigned Demetrius Blackwell, 35, on Sunday in Queens County Criminal Court.

Blackwell initially faced two counts of first-degree attempted murder, but prosecutors will likely soon upgrade those charges to murder.

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and several officers rushed to the hospital to pay their respects.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown had said in a statement Monday that Moore's shooting "once again reminds us of the dangers that our police officers face each day as they carry out their sworn duty to protect and serve our communities."

Moore is the third NYPD officer in the past five months to be shot and killed as tension with police grips the nation.

NYPD Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were sitting in a squad car in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn when they were shot and killed.

Their killer, Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley, 28, turned the gun on himself after the Dec. 22 afternoon shooting.

Reports indicate that he wanted revenge after grand juries in New York and Missouri would not indict the police officers who killed Eric Garner and Michael Brown.

Moore, an officer with the 105 precinct, was driving with his partner alongside Blackwell, according to a statement from prosecutors.

During a short, televised news conference Monday afternoon, Bratton said Moore "proved himself to be an exceptional officer" in his four and a half years with the force.

The officer, whose father and uncle were also policemen, was awarded two meritorious service medals, Bratton added.

Services for Moore will be set up later this week.

The president of the NYC Patrolmen's Benevolent Association encouraged New Yorkers to thank officers for their service.

"As we square our shoulders and wipe our tears for Brian," life will go on, he said.

There is another news conference scheduled for later this afternoon.

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